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Bok Choy

I’ve been saving this post for awhile because every time I got to researching bok choy, I ended up getting intrigued by some other Chinese cooking ingredient and reading myself way off track. So while this is no longer the seasonally relevant post I had hoped it to be, I’m not waiting until bok choy reappears in my local farmers market to talk about it, so here we go!

This is not my photo. I snagged this one from milwaukeeadventurebootcamp because every picture I took of my bok choy turned out to be horrible. The shot of my springy, green, freshly washed Chinese cabbage came out looking like dark, wet, soggy lettuce. And that is not the most appetizing thing to look at, so I have omitted the un-sexy vegetable photo.

Bok choy has always scared me. I didn’t understand it, I didn’t know what to do with it, and I felt it was best to leave it to the experts down at the Chinese carry-out place around the corner. When I saw it at the grocery store or at the market, I admired it from a distance while picking out a nice bunch of kale or spinach leaves instead. Then one day I saw it while perusing the produce at the South of the James market and I decided to go for it. I don’t know if it was the extra shot of espresso in my iced latte or the fresh cash burning a hole in the pocket of my jersey cotton sundress but something made me think, “oh, what the heck.” And so began my adventure.

Bok choy originated in China, and then was introduced to Korea and Japan in the early 20th century as a result of war in the region. It was then that bok choy became the main ingredient in kimchi (yum!). It was introduced to Europe shortly thereafter and it is now available in markets around the world. While it is available year round at the grocery store, I have seen bok choy in the local farmers’ markets mainly in the Spring.

The crop has tender white stalks and dark green leaves. Its name comes from “pak choi” which means “white vegetable” in Chinese (according to chinesefood.about.com, so take that with a big grain of salt, or soy sauce if you prefer). Bok choy is rich in calcium and vitamins A, C, and K. This was definitely one of the more healthy decisions I have made as a result of a wad of cash burning a hole in the pocket of my sundress. Three cheers for maturity!

I wasn’t too adventurous on my first attempt at cooking bok choy because I wasn’t sure how it would taste or how it would behave on the stovetop, so I made a nice stir fry. Somewhat vague instructions follow because my soy sauce stained notes were made hastily as I chopped and sauteed my way through this simple and improvised recipe.

1. Press one 14 oz block of tofu until water is drained.

2. Cut tofu into small rectangles and saute in oil over medium-high heat, turning to brown all sides. Remove tofu from pan and onto paper towels.

3. Add 8 oz of thin spaghetti to a pot of salted boiling water. Cook according to package instructions while stir frying the vegetables.

4. Add one small onion, chopped, to the stir fry pan and saute until translucent. Add 3-4 bunches of chopped bok choy (stalks and leaves) and a few chopped carrots to the pan, adding more cooking oil as necessary. It is okay to chop the vegetables into big chunks; I like it better that way than a fine dice.

I think we ate this with mojitos, but in the future I would have it with a lager for a better pairing. But hey, when you need a minty sweet cocktail, you gotta have a minty sweet cocktail, so pair it with whatever you would like and choose your own adventure.